Kessel and Lupul Split, is it Time for Bigger Changes?

The Mix Up

On the “breaking news” that Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel had been split up to balance out the line up, it might be time to consider that this team needs more than a little spark to reach the post season dance. The Toronto Maple Leafs have failed to qualify for the playoffs since the 2003-04 season. Fans have been tortured with “quick fixes” which have been just as effective as get rich quick schemes. With Brian Burke at the helm, this team has undergone a large, quick, and incredibly effective thus far rebuild, although you’ll never get Brian Burke to call it that.

When Phil Kessel was acquired, Leaf fans cringed at the loss of two first round picks, one of which turned out to be Tyler Seguin, current plus/minus leader in the NHL. That trade aside, not many can argue with the trades that Brian Burke has made, so is it time for another?

On the heels of three straight losses, in which the Leafs began to look stale for the first time this season , Ron Wilson has thrown the bingo balls in the mixer and thrown together some new lines.

Forwards

Lombardi – Bozak – Kessel

MacArthur – Grabovski – Kulemin

Lupul – Connolly – Kadri

Brown – Steckel – Crabb

Defense

Phaneuf –Schenn

Carl Gunnarsson – Mike Komisarek

Cody Franson – Jake Gardiner

Lupul and Kessel, who at the time of writing this sit 4th and 9th in scoring, have been a fearsome twosome in the NHL. Not quite the Sedins, but give Lupul a square head and lighter hair and you might think these two were twins separated at birth. Separating these two is simply not enough to turn the ship around. By compromising their chemistry together, you may achieve some more balanced scoring, but when three goals a game from Kessel and Lupul turns into three goals a game from Lupul, Connolly, and Kessel, the Leafs problems are not solved.

There are trades that can be made by Brian Burke that will help this team immediately, and in the future. The size of these trades would have Brian Burkes stamp all over them. So here are some potential trade scenarios that @LeafsBB20 may be looking at.

All of these trades would help the Leafs now and in the future with perhaps the exception of Ryan Suter if he doesn’t re-sign. This is not based on any insider knowledge, just purely speculative fun. You may think the Leafs are overpaying or underpaying for certain players, which provides fun discussion. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts in the comments.

Comments

Great article. But I'm not sure how those first few trades help the leafs long term. I don't think giving up 3-4 roster pieces will help their depth issues. The Carter trade looks good, as does the Suter trade, but I don't think the Preds will give up Suter. Carter might be the best fit at the price.